Client Success Story: The Weight Lifter

Age: 33

Timeline: 1 Year

There is a general misconception that when someone isn’t at their ideal weight that they over consume calories. More often than not the exact opposite is true. I’ve had hundreds of clients who come to me with frustrations from living in a heavy calorie restricted diet for years. Many times it is unintentional and sometimes, is not.

This signals the body to go into “emergency mode” and store what little food the body is supplied as fat. The only answer to lose weight: take on more fuel to drive loss.

This week’s client came to me in this place. She wasn’t eating enough, especially for her volume of training, and needed to shift her perspective from the notion of “less being more.” She did that and did it amazingly well, dropping two weight classes as a competitive weight lifter (that’s over 20 lbs) and looks and feels better than she ever has. She recently competed in the American Open Series and qualified for the Finals this winter. Her passion, work ethic and follow through is inspiring and I am grateful to call her a client and friend.

Here is her story:

“What a trip! Miami was hectic, humid and amazing all at the same time. There wasn’t a second to slow down and really enjoy everything that Miami has to offer but we sure got to experience a TON of weight lifting. Overall a super successful trip for the team and for me personally. But success never comes easy! This past year I’ve worked hard to gain strength while cutting weight.

I have officially been working with Amanda for one year this August. When I started I weighed around 150 lbs and was competing in the 69kg weight class. I wasn’t comfortable or confident at this weight, so we set some goals to get me to the next lowest weight class which is 63 kg. Our goal was slow and steady which would allow me to continue training hard. I competed a few times at the 63kg weight class this past year, but I felt like I could do more.

After discussion with my weightlifting coach Brian, as well as Amanda, we decided to drop to the next weight class which is 58kg. Our long term goal was to compete in July at my lowest weight class. With the amount of training I do every day (1.5-2 hours, sometimes more) it was incredibly important that I eat enough to prevent muscle breakdown and fatigue.

Along the way, I’ve fallen off the wagon, gotten back on and fallen off again. I messed up, wouldn’t track, failed to send my numbers, gave up on weighing myself because I didn’t want to see the number on the scale. The best part about having a macro coach is the accountability. When Amanda doesn’t hear from me, I know she will definitely be following up by text, email or in person.

She helps encourage me, talks me off cliffs and gives me meal ideas when I can’t figure out what to eat to fit my day. She is always there to remind me that I don’t have to throw away the whole day or week or month, just because I messed up one time. I’m not perfect. I love ice cream, pizza and cookies and struggle with self-control when it comes to food.

When July came around (WAYYYY faster than I felt like it should) I was slightly above my goal weight, but wasn’t worried at all because Amanda was in constant contact with me about my daily weights and food intake, especially when it was coming close to game time. Cutting the last few pounds (kilos, whatever) of weight can be tricky, especially as a female with cross country travel and time zone acclamation as well as an evening weigh in.

When July 28th finally came, I was perfectly on weight, slightly under actually. I never felt overly hungry or tired. At 6pm I weighed in at 57.66. I was able to compete as a 58kg lifter for the first time and on a national stage. I felt good, not weak or fatigued at all and was able to take 8th place in my weight class out of about 60.

So what have I learned through this whole process? Be Consistent.

When I track consistently and weigh in regularly I see the most significant results. I tend to really buckle down right around competition time when I really need to make weight and I never have a problem reaching the weight I planned. I’ve also learned that with the proper guidance you can lose weight and get stronger with more food, not less.

I’ve lost 20 lbs this year and PR’d every single one of my lifts.

What’s next?

Maintenance and more food. Which means I will need to be accurate in my tracking and make sure I eat all the food I’m allowed in order to help me gain some strength so I can compete at the American Open Finals in December!”

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